Petit ledger and bill-holder



(ModeL) R. & B. BUNKER.

P'etit Ledger and Bill Holder. No. 235J38. Patented Dec. 7, I880.

lrwerzlmgsi N. PEIERs. FI'IOTWLITHOGRAPHER. WA!

UNITED "STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD DONKER AND EDWARD DONKER, OF ALBANY, NEl/V YORK.

PETIT LEDGER AND BILL-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 235,138, dated December 7, 1880.

Application filed August 31, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, RICHARD DONKER and EDWARD DONKER, citizens of the United States, residing at .Albany, in the county of Albany and State of New York, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Petit Led gers and Bill-Holders; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to furnish indexed tablets on which bills, notes, memoranda, 850., may be written in alphabetical order, so as to be in a compact and convenient shape for delivery or for reference.

In the preferred form the invention consists of a portfolio of tablets, each of which is provided with a general and sub index, printed, respectively, on the top cover of the tablet and on the projecting lower margins of said cover and interleaves by which the tablet is divided.

In order that the invention may be fully understood we have illustratedin the annexed drawings, and will proceed to describe, such a portfolio of bill-head tablets.

Figure 1 represents the portfolio, in perspective, as it appears when open. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same as it appears when closed.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in both figures.

The portfolio is constructed of a flexible cover, A, suitably strengthened at the center to form the back B.v Three boards, 0, are in this instance fastened to the flexible cover on each side of the back 13, properly'spaced. To the inner side of each one of these boards is (Model) secured a tablet, D, along its top margin, the width of the tablet being about equal to the width of the board.

As a ready means of securing the tablets the well-known McGillpaper-fasteners E may be used, as shown.

Each tablet consists of blank bill-heads with stubs at the top on which the bills may be docketed. This tablet of bill-heads is under a top cover, F, upon the center of which are printed, in large type, certain letters of the alphabet.

There being six tablets in the present example, the alphabet is divided accordingly into six divisions, the letters of which are associated alphabetically, and which are assigned to the tablets in alphabetical order from left to right. These letters on the top cover of each tablet indicate the initial letters of all the names against which bills may be found in each particular tablet, and constitute the general index.

In order to facilitate the selection of bills from the tablets, each is divided by interleaves Gr, projecting beyond the lower margin of the tablet far enough to form, in connection with the suitably-projecting top cover, a horizontally-running alphabetical marginal index for each tablet. The top cover and interleaves equal in number the number of letters of the alphabet on the center of such cover, and the lower marginal index or subindex contains the same letters as the general index printed on the cover, all as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

The invention is used as follows: In making out a bill the book-keeper selects that tablet the general index of which contains the initial letter of the debtor, and then turns to the same letter of the sub-index to make outthe bill in that division of the tablet. All the bills are made out in that way in the proper divisions of the several tablets. The collector can then take the portfolio and go on his rounds of collection. He can promptly select any particular bill by the aid of the general and sub indexes of the tablets.

It is obvious that tablets indexed as described may be used disconnectedly, although we prefer to use them in portfolio form.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A portfolio of tablets, each of which has a cover containing a general alphabetical index of a division of the alphabet, and dividing interleaves, forming, in conjunction with the cover, a sub-index, substantially as and for r 5 

